Dynamic, Talented Leaders Vital for Better Brunei Civil Service

IN A rapidly changing environment, the presence of dynamic leaders are vital to lead the civil service in its evolution and in attaining its desired goals, said Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan bin Haji Mohamad Daud, the Acting Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday.

“Thus, identifying potential talent is important for succession planning purposes,” he noted in his speech as guest of honour at an event held at the PMO Building to commemorate the conclusion of three leadership development courses conducted for some 88 civil service executive officers.

The acting minister further said that an excellent organisation is one that can create a group of leaders who can take over its leadership at any given time, highlighting that leadership quality is one of the most essential elements of the Civil Service Framework 2016-2020 initiative by the PMO.

As part of the initiative, the Civil Service Leadership Pipeline (CSLP) was made as one of its mainstay and it seeks to assemble a group of potential leaders in the civil service.

“This can be considered as an effort to manage talents of the civil service on a whole level as opposed to management at the ministry or department level. Leaders with high potential will be listed in the talent pipeline and will be monitored continuously by giving them training and development programmes designed for leadership and management,” he explained, adding that the CSLP can be regarded as a systematic talent management and succession planning platform for the whole of the civil service.To achieve a great impact, he urged the strong support and cooperation from all ministries for the CSLP.

“We expect all ministries to identify their officers who are regarded as high-performers and have great potential to be absorbed in this programme. Insya Allah, through this programme, all officers will have wide opportunities to steer and develop their leadership qualities,” he said.

During the event yesterday, 24 participants from the 24th Executive Development Programme for Senior Government Officers (EDPSGO), 35 from the 24th Executive Development Programme for Middle Management Officers (EDPMMO) and 26 from the first cohort of the Young Executive Programme (YEP) received their certificates for finishing the respective leadership programmes.

The best participants from the EDPSGO and EDPMMO also received tokens of appreciation from the guest of honour.

According to a press statement from the Civil Service Department (JPA), the executive development programme for government officers is a collaboration between JPA and the Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Advancement (ILIA) of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and aims to enhance the leadership and credibility capacities of senior government officers. It said the programme will also help renew the participants’ willpower and resolutions towards efforts to handle challenges in the civil service.

The first-ever YEP, a 10-week programme, is a collaboration between JPA and the Civil Service Institute (IPA) and aims to develop potential leadership skills of newly appointed officers who are in service for two years or below.

“It emphasises basic needs in the service to the government and focuses on the understanding of policies, management system, government regulations as well as national customs and traditions,” the statement added.

The YEP programme sheds more light on the roles of a leader, skills in development and the utilisation of appropriate and effective management methods to accomplish improvements and also global best practices in the private and public sectors.

To date, over 1,000 government officers have attended the EDPSGO and EDPMMO programmes, while the YEP programme is a new programme introduced this year.

DESPITE first making its appearance in the Sultanate during the 1940s, Kuih Mor continues to be a household favourite today as a tea time snack or festive treat particularly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Siti Norhafizah Hj Bagol, a final year student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam who researched on Kuih Mor as part of her Brunei Traditional Industry module, said the three-ingredient sweet treat may have existed in Brunei as early as the 1940s when padi was known to have been grown to make different food items.

Over time, the cookie has also become a popular door-gift choice often handed out at Malay weddings or gatherings, said Siti Norhafizah.

Made with flour, oil and granulated sugar which have been ground into a powder, the bite-sized biscuits have a crumbly texture and are coated with powdered sugar.

The age-old technique of making Kuih Mor by hand has however changed over the course of time, with many now opt…